Strategic innovation drives growth of Hong Kong’s listing and digital asset markets: SFC Quarterly Report

On March 19, 2026, the Securities and Futures Commission ("SFC") published its Quarterly Report, stating Hong Kong’s capital markets finished 2025 strongly. Hong Kong became the world’s top IPO venue, raising over $280 billion.

Technology Enterprises Channel ("TECH") Performance

The new Technology Enterprises Channel ("TECH"), launched in May 2025, received 119 IPO applications from pre-profit biotech and specialist technology firms. These comprised 73 and 46 applications from the respective sectors. In the last quarter, 10 IPOs from these sectors raised over $9 billion, up 800% year-on-year.

SFC Compliance and Enforcement

The SFC issued a circular to IPO sponsors in January to address deficiencies and misconduct, reviewing submissions and planning thematic inspections.

Digital Asset Ecosystem Expansion

Hong Kong’s digital asset ecosystem thrived, with SFC-authorised tokenised retail money market funds (introduced in 2025) growing to $8.66 billion AUM as of December, up 14% from a quarter ago. For virtual asset spot exchange-traded funds (introduced in 2024), 11 were listed with market capitalisation surging 142% since launch to over $5.4 billion.

Asset and Wealth Management Growth

The asset and wealth management market saw total market capitalisation of SFC-authorised ETFs and L&I products jump 33.7% YoY to $618.7 billion as of December. They recorded net inflows of $9.2 billion last quarter, with a 14% share of market turnover.

Hong Kong-Domiciled Fund Performance

Hong Kong-domiciled funds saw net inflows soar 118.5% YoY to $356.7 billion in 2025. As of December, their AUM surged 38.3% YoY to $2.28 trillion, and the total number increased 9.1% YoY to 1,041.

Executive Commentary

Ms Julia Leung, SFC Chief Executive Officer, stated that 2025 represented high-quality growth propelled by strategic innovation. She added that the SFC remains committed to future-proofing markets by driving responsible innovation, enhancing resilience, and strengthening investor trust.

Stock Connect and Licensing Activity

Other highlights included: a) For Mainland-Hong Kong Stock Connect, average daily southbound trading increased 151% YoY to $121.1 billion, accounting for 24.2% of market turnover, up from 18.3% in 2024. Cumulative southbound net inflows reached more than $5.1 trillion since launch in 2014. b) In 2025, the SFC received 9,637 licence applications, a 17% increase from 2024. In the quarter, 2,488 licence applications were received, up 27% YoY.

Investor Protection and Education

On investor protection, the SFC secured the first custodial sentence against an unlicensed finfluencer last quarter. To raise anti-scam awareness, the SFC hosted talks for university students and the elderly, promoted at shopping centres and Police’s Anti-Crime Elite Games 2025 under its Don’t be Sucker (咪做水魚 in Cantonese) campaign. Advertisements were placed at high-traffic locations including MTR stations.

Notes and Updates

Notes clarified that all figures are as of end-December 2025 and denominated in Hong Kong dollars. A reference was made to the SFC’s press release dated 30 January 2026. Note 3 included tokenised classes to existing money market funds. Note 4 indicated the change from calendar year 2024 to 2025. The document was last updated on 19 Mar 2026.